1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to repair kits for fishing rods and particularly to repair kits for fishing rods that use threaded connectors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Fishing is a sport enjoyed by a large number of people. Millions of fishing rods and assorted tackle are sold every year. Many of the fishing poles break because of mishandling, catching too large a fish, or many other reasons. Once the pole is broken (either at the tip or along the length of the body, it is useless. Typically, pole breaks occur in the field, where repair facilities are rare. As a result, many of these broken poles are discarded in the field, cluttering up the outdoors. Even if the poles are discarded properly, they constitute more trash in already limited landfills.
One U.S. Patent has been issued coving a fishing rod rip. Design Pat. No. D368,295 shows a small tip that has a cylindrical end that fits on the pole. The end then necks down to a conical shape. An angled member extends upward and a simple ring to which a ferrule is attached. While this tip can be used for repairs, it has some problems, the biggest of which is that the ferrule is simply a ring attached to a thin member. This is a point of weakness that can fail, resulting in a second broken tip.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,485 teaches a tip for a fishing rod that is about four to 10 inches long. Although the tip can be used for repairs, it is primarily designed to be used with the base section of the pole to convert it into an ice-fishing pole. The device is designed to fit into a female ferrule on a rod. It uses a set of O-rings to hold the tip in place. As noted above, the device can be used as a “repair”. However, since most breaks occur either at the tip of the end portion or in the body of the end portion, if this device was used as a repair kit, it would still result in many parts of the poles being dumped or abandoned in the field. Moreover, the device's length does not lend it to be carried as part of a repair kit.